Decisions

The services are required to bring forward 4no. council-owned former garage sites for affordable housing development by the Housing Revenue Account in line with Project 1000 Affordable Housing Delivery Plan.
This decision is made in accordance with The Project 1000 Affordable Housing Delivery Plan 2022-25 that outlines how the council will focus its land, time, money, and influence to improve the way affordable housing is delivered in Bristol. The council’s ambition is to work with partners, local communities and developers to deliver 1000 new affordable homes each year by 2024.

Approval to award a contract to Ridge and Partners LLP as quantity surveyor on 4no. council-owned housing development sites (Molesworth Dr, Craydon Rd, Redford Cr and Wootton Rd).
Services include providing cost consultancy services during RIBA Stages 1-3 and Employer’s Agent services during RIBA Stages 4-6 (incl. the Defects Period).

This ODN is based on Delegated Authority from the Single Commissioning Framework, given in September 2023 at Cabinet. This Delegated Authority is held by the Executive Director for Adults and Communities, in consultation with the Chair of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee to approve the direction of travel for the following two-call off contracts from the Single Framework, as detailed below.
Addison Apartments (Milestones)
The Addison apartments are a purpose-built accommodation (BCC owned) for 5 individuals with complex needs (including learning disability). There is currently a block contract in place, and this comes to an end on 24th July 2024. The block contract started on 25th July 2022 and the service provider is Milestones.
The block contract has a possible 1 year + 1 year extension available. Engagement with Milestones to ascertain their wishes to continue into the first-year extension began on 26th February 2024. On Friday April 26th 2024 Milestones confirmed to Bristol City Council that they do not wish to continue into year 1 extension at existing rates, stating:
“As an absolute minimum, we would need to move to the new framework rates. The service currently operates at a significant deficit and a move to the new framework would go some way towards alleviating this.”
It is also of note that Milestones have escalated conversations around prices across their wider service delivery and a meeting has been arranged with the Deputy Director for Adult Commissioning (Richard Hills).
Procurement have confirmed that in this case we will be able to direct award within compliance of The Procurement Act 2023 via an expression of interest. The Commissioning Team are currently liaising with potential new providers for the Addison apartments. The Commissioning Team are looking to set up a block contract (1 year + 1 year) for the recommissioning of care and support at Addison Apartments which would enable us adequate time for the Single Framework to be embedded and the opportunity for this contract to become part of the proposed Strategic Partner Call off at a later date.
Extra Care Housing (The Guinness Partnership Ltd.)
The Guinness Partnership Ltd. have made the decision to nationally withdraw from the Registered Care market, whilst remaining as a Registered Landlord. Within Bristol, The Guinness Partnership Ltd. operate two Extra Care Housing schemes where they are currently both Registered Landlord and Registered Care Provider. Therefore, Adult Care Commissioning will be sourcing a new Registered Care Provider for these schemes and commissioning a Transfer of Care to continue the statutory provision of care and support with a new Registered Care Provider.
The upcoming opportunity is for an Extra Care Housing care and support contracts to deliver 24 hour domiciliary care and floating support within extra care housing services, including emergency response. There is also an additional contract being offered as part of this package to deliver hospital discharge units within one of the schemes. This contract is part of the Better Care Fund which includes funding 4 hospital discharge beds within one of the schemes.
There will be two service support contracts available, but we are awarding both of these to a single Provider to mirror the current care and support offer which provides flexibility and movement of staff between the two schemes, with one Registered Manager responsible for both locations.
The addresses and Registered Landlord are provided below:
The Guinness Partnership
Lincoln Gardens Extra Care
Lincoln Street
Lawrence Hill
Bristol
BS5 0BZ
Total number of units: 55
Bristol City Council units: 55
Nominations agreement: 100% of initial lets, 75% on subsequent
Tenure: Rental
The Guinness Partnership
Southlands

No decision required. This is for information and to approve direction of travel.

A key decision was taken at the Transport and Connectivity Policy Committee on July 11 2024 within item 8, Strategic Corridors update and delivery of City Centre project. The committee authorised the Executive Director: Growth and Regeneration, in consultation with the Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee to take all steps required to accept and spend additional funding (including procuring and awarding contracts) … to deliver Business Cases for approval by the Committee to submit to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority for the City Centre project of up to £4.00m.” This commission is part of that work.

Following a procurement exercise ran via Constellia, Aecom will be commissioned to undertake scheme assessment and appraisal and present this in 2 chapters of an Outline Business Case (OBC). The OBC will cover part of the CRSTS City Centre project, specifically the infrastructure changes in the City Centre, bus re routing and the introduction of a new rapid transit service.

An initial Officer Execution Decision Notice relating to this open framework was issued on 5 March 2024 (Initial OED). This Officer Decision Notice supersedes the Initial OED, in order to be clear that approval is being given for:
a)any past, current and future procurement rounds that are run in order to bring new providers onto the open framework for Children’s Care and Support Services. Each provider will be awarded and enter into a separate open framework agreement with the Council, on substantively the same terms; and
b)any past, current and future call-off contracts (which may be spot-purchases or block purchases) with providers pursuant to any of the open framework agreements for Children’s Care and Support Services, provided the maximum total spend across all call-off contracts by 1 January 2029 does not exceed £12.3m across five years.
Each open framework agreement term will be for three years from 1 January 2024, with the potential to extend for a further two years (i.e. not beyond 1 January 2029). The open framework agreements will include the option to call off block arrangements to secure support services over a longer period of time. Block contracting often offers better value for money and framework providers will be assessed on both quality and price when making block call offs.
Supporting information (copied from the Initial OED):
In the past year the Council has experienced high demand for specialist support and care (often nurse-led) for children and young people, often in emergency situations. This includes support delivered in the home, in care placements and in short breaks services for disabled children.
Urgent and specialist services are used for a small number of children and young people with complex and sometimes challenging needs and behaviours, that can include mental health problems, autism, trauma and attachment disorders and learning difficulties.
Without using these specialist services these children would otherwise be at risk of entering care (if not already in care), suffering a placement breakdown, or being admitted into Tier 4 mental health facilities. These services support in stabilising the home environment or placement in both the short and long term. This can aide with giving an opportunity to further assess the needs of the child to ensure any future placement is best matched to their individual needs.
Providers of this type of support are often (but not limited to) staffing agencies who specialise in the provision of registered nurses, including mental health nurses, healthcare assistants and other care/support staff at very short notice in order to create specialist packages of care for children with complex needs, either in the home or in placements elsewhere.
In awarding these frameworks and subsequent call-offs, we will have a compliant means of responding to need and reduce the level of risk involved in this area of spend through improved monitoring and quality assurance. This should also increase value for money through a more strategic approach to the market not based on multiple waivers or informal, ad hoc spend.

Approval to award the Children’s Care and Support Services Open Framework Agreements (in multiple rounds) and all subsequent call-offs, in order to provide personalised care and support for children, in the family home, in care placements or within short breaks services for disabled children, where existing contractual arrangements are unable to.

Bristol City Council received £870,741 of development funding from Active Travel England for developing four walking and cycling schemes; Filwood Quietway; Deanery Road; Old Market Quietway and Malago Greenway. As the project continues to progress an underspend of £333,000 has emerged. A change request was submitted to Active Travel England to redirect a portion of this funding to an existing on-street cycle hangar programme (£50,000) as well as to the development of an Outline Business Case (£283,000) for improving walking and cycling infrastructure along a stretch of the A4 from Cattlemarket Rd to 3 lamps junction. The request has been approved by Active Travel England and now requires internal approval to redirect funding to the abovementioned projects.

To approve a Change Request to the current Active Travel Fund 4 programme that would see £333,000 of underspend re-directed to the existing on-street cycle hangar programme (£50,000) and the development of an Outline Business Case for improving walking and cycling links along the A4 between Cattlemarket Road and 3 Lamps Junction (£283,000).

Permission to bid for and spend this Home Office grant will allow for the continuation of two specialist prevent posts to be employed by Bristol City Council from April 2024 to March 2025. This Prevent Team will continue to support the Council to deliver against the national prevent objectives and practices set out in the Prevent Duty.

Permission for Bristol City Council Safer Communities Team to bid for Home Office Prevent grant funding to the amount of £128,492 for the year 2024-2025. This bid covers salary costs associated with Prevent Specialist roles, namely a Prevent Coordinator and a Prevent Education Officer and some engagement funding. Delivery against this grant funding relates directly to the Prevent Duty as set out in Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015). Permission to spend this grant was also delegated to the Director of Public Health.

The community and voluntary sector is vital to Bristol’s wellbeing, health and economy. The sector is also vital in supporting the council to meet its obligations and strategic objectives. The context of
current funding is one of growing inequity exacerbated by austerity, cost of living, the climate crisis
and other complex factors.
In February 2022 Cabinet approved a community-led decision-making approach to allocate £4million capital funding for the Community Resilience Fund and established a reserve of £600k for the duration of the programme. The Community Resilience Fund is a one-off capital grant fund established in response to recommendations of the Bristol VCSE Strategy Group and VCSE report ‘Designing and New Social Reality’ as part of an overall goal to build city resilience by growing the power of communities experiencing the greatest inequality.
In addition, in February 2021 Cabinet approved £2,351,995 revenue funding to support the delivery of a Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector recovery strategy and enabling a proposed new Communities Resilience Fund (CRF) commencing 2021/22.
Cabinet?authorised the Executive Director for People in consultation with the Cabinet member for Communities now Chair of the PH

This decision authorises the expenditure of funding allocated to support the VCSE recovery strategy and enable the Community Resilience Fund as follows:
Up to £660k one-off strategic grant investment in 31 community hubs and anchor organisations as set out in appendix A
£76,634 to uplift Bristol Impact Fund 2 medium and large grants for the period of the approved BIF2 extension from October 2025- March 2026
£150k for staff and capacity building for a two-year extension of CRF from 1st April 2026 – 31st March 2028 subject to the PH

To add a value via an officer executive decision of £124k to the budget envelope for Overton Road and Princess Victoria Street outlined in the cabinet paper on 24 January 2023 (agenda no 19). The reason for the variance is because of an increase in scope using higher quality materials on Overton Road, to provide maximum benefits of the scheme. While Princess Victoria Street has come below its envelope agreement by £34k, Overton Road has come over its envelope agreement by £158k, this means we need to add a value of 124k to the initial decision via an officer executive decision.

Approve the added value of £124k to the budget envelope for Overton Road and Princess Victoria Street

Avon and Somerset OPCC have been awarded a Home Office grant and have allocated £230,000 of the grant to Bristol City Council (BCC). The grant has been allocated to allow BCC to implement agreed interventions that address ASB and SV incidents that are occurring in specific hotspots.
The BCC element of this coordinated approach includes detached youth work and mentoring, re-deployable CCTV and community led action.
The priority areas have been identified by Avon and Somerset Police and the OPCC and are as follows: East St, BedminsterMorrisons; Hartcliffe; Newquay Rd, Knowle West; Cabot Circus; Stokes Croft; Queen Charlotte St; St Augustine’s Parade; Gloucester Rd; Queen’s Rd/Triangle; Park St; Corn St;Jamaica St; Broad Quay; Union/Fairfax St; The Podium, Broadmead; Marlborough St Bus Station; Pero’s Bridge; Broad Weir; Horsefair; Wine St; Stapleton Rd.
All of the activity that this funding pays for is intended to address ASB and Serious Violence incidents in these localities.

Accepting this funding will result in significant resource being brought into the City within the specified areas. This will in turn result in an opportunity to bolster detached youth work provision in areas specified, improve CCTV and engage and utilise the communities resulting in strengthening social action. All of which will have a positive impact on preventing and reducing serious violence and ASB.

To update on the planned activity in the regeneration service

To provide an update of the current significant strategic risks to achieving the Council’s objectives as set in the Corporate Strategy and summarise progress in managing the risks/actions being taken for each quarter.

To seek approval to hold detailed bid negotiations to secure grant funding from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to deliver Phase 3 of the WE Work for Everyone programme for people with learning difficulties

To present the Committee with the latest detailed financial outturn report.

Owned and operated by Bristol City Council, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) is an accredited museum housing 2.5 million objects across a broad range of subjects including 3 individually designated collections. Built in 1905, it is Grade II* listed.
Protecting the fabric and longevity of the structure will allow BMAG to continue as a community and civic focal point for Bristol. We aim to make our building more accessible for everyone and engage the community in preserving this listed building and reinterpreting and accessing collections.

Approval to apply for funding from Arts Council England MEND (Museum Estate Development Fund) and if successful, for match funding to be approved from Bristol City Council’s Corporate Landlords Health and Safety programme. Approval to seek permission from Strategy and Resources Committee to accept and spend the grant (i.e. deliver the project) if the funding bid is successful was also agreed.

On 25 February 2021 cabinet approved the following, towards the development of a new community hub in Ambition Lawrence Weston:
- Grant a new 35-year Community Asset lease to Ambition Lawrence Weston, with no capital receipt or rental income due to the Council.
- £1.15m (£1m from Community Infrastructure Levy allocation and £150k from the Port Communities Resilience Fund), as a contribution towards the development costs of the new community hub.
- £1,201,000 total Bristol City Council funding to support Ambition Lawrence Weston`s project including additional £51k from the enabling budget agreed by the Housing Delivery team.
In additional to the Council funding, Ambition Lawrence Weston also secured funding from Reaching Communities (part of the National Lottery) and direct funding from Ambition Lawrence Weston.
Recently Ambition Lawrence Weston has approached the Council with a request for additional funding to complete the construction of the new community Centre building.
Ambition Lawrence Weston advised the Council that due to change in economy, their original funding envelope has been exhausted, as a result of increase in inflation and material costs. Although value engineering carried out twice, but there are still a fairly large funding deficit to complete the scheme.
A failure to secure the additional funding quickly is going to lead to the contractor failing to place final orders for materials and delay, and additional cost;
- Ambition Lawrence Weston have raised significant funding themselves £200k and have also approached other funders for inflationary uplifts and have been successful with an additional £100k from the National Lottery;
- The new community centre is well developed and nearing completion, works are expected to complete by the end of October 2024.

It has been agreed by the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration John Smith and the Council Leader Councillor Tony Dyer to provide Ambition Lawrence Weston with the additional funding £241,090 (two hundreds, forty-one thousand and ninety pounds) from the Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (SCIL) to support the completion of the new Community Centre building in Lawrence Weston.

Provide the option to progress work as required within the current Adult Social Care Delivery Partner contract terms.

To formally extend the existing contract by 12 months.
To increase the spend threshold on the contract by up to £700k.
Reason for identifying as an ODN - Cabinet Decision taken on 6th June 2023:
Authorised the Executive Director Adults and Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Integrated Care Systems to procure and award contract(s) (which may be above the key decision threshold and subject to an urgent decision with a retrospective report to Cabinet) for the implementation of a Delivery Partner to co-deliver programme objectives.

Local Authorities have responsibilities to ensure that there have sufficient AMHPs to carry out their functions under the Mental Health Act (MHA Code of Practice 2015 Para 14.35).
S114 of the Mental Health Act states that a ‘local authority may approve a person to act as approved mental health professional for the purposes of this Act.’
‘Before approving a person. ..a local social services authority must be satisfied that he has appropriate competence in dealing with person who are suffering from mental disorder’.
The Mental Health (Approved Mental Health Professionals Approval) (England) Regulations 2008 set out clear standards and requirements by which a local social services authority in England can approve persons to act as Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) for the purposes of the Mental Health Act. It also states, ‘before a person can be approved (or re-approved) in England to act as an AMHP by a local social services authority, the person must have appropriate competence.’
In Bristol this process is managed through an approval panel chaired by a senior manager with delegated authority from Director of Adult Social Services. Adult and Communities scheme of delegation ((BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL page 5) states that only the Adults Principal Social Worker has such delegated authority currently.
It is recommended that the scheme of delegation is amended so that the Head of Service with responsibility for strategic mental health social work also has delegated authority to approve persons to act as AMHPs on behalf of Bristol City Council.
This will enable the role to be shared across two senior officers, removing any risks of single point of failure and allows workload to be shared across more than one officer.

Delegation of authority to additional Head of Service to approve a person to act as an Approved Mental Health Professional for the purposes of the Mental Health Act 1983

To extend the existing contract with Liquid Personnel through Constellia for locum social workers to conduct additional Care Act reviews. This was originally agreed on 11 March 2024 in the officer executive decision (OED) included as an appendix to this notice. The spend on that decision has been actioned and the decision was taken at EDM on 05/06/2024 to extend to the end of the financial year in line with the saving project and target.

To extend the existing contract and to fund an additional 1,000 reviews through the underspend on the 2024/5 ASC staffing budget. This is up to the end of the financial year and the project timescale.

This report confirms the decision to agree to accept a grant to support seven (7) Afghan families (35 people) who are being placed in serviced accommodation by the Home Office from Pakistan.

The Section 151 Officer and Executive Director of Adults and Communities met on 16 May 2024 and gave approval to accept and spend the grant.
Section 3 of the Grant Bid and Claim Protocol, Exceptional Approval process allows the Executive Director and Section 151 Officer to take a decision which must be followed with a retrospective decision. This report follows up this emergency decision with a retrospective decision by ASC Committee following the decision-making pathway.

Bristol City Council wishes to commission a single storey extension with specialist internal works to the property 100 Plummers Hill, St.George, Bristol.

To award a contract to Hudsons Plumbing

We have a statutory duty under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 to accommodate young people deemed to be a Child in Need under section 17(10) of the Children Act, if they have no one to take parental responsibility for them and they believe their welfare would otherwise be "likely to be seriously prejudiced". One way we discharge this duty is through arranging placements via our 16+ High support DPS.
In January 2017 Cabinet gave approval to procure and enter contracts for the ‘External Supported Accommodation ‘dynamic purchasing system’ (DPS), and Delegated authority to the Executive Director of People to invoke any variations or extensions.
Since 2017, commissioning activity through the DPS has taken place including: Appointing 32 providers through 10 procurement rounds, and running several mini competitions for Shared Accommodation for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC)
The framework is due to expire at the end of September 2024. From this point we have agreed to join the South Gloucestershire led regional framework, and will be going to the new Committee system in the summer for permission to purchase from it. A short term extension is being sought in case of any delays in navigating the new system, or in our providers joining the new framework. Implementing an extension will prevent us from breaching in case any delays materialise.

To extend the 16+ High Support Accommodation DPS, and the block contracts that sit underneath, for six months at a maximum value of £2.4m from 1st October 2024- 31st March 2025 September 2024.

Structural survey was carried out and any urgent areas addressed. Further works have been specified and priced to allow completion over the school summer holidays.
A Structural condition survey was undertaken in autumn 2023 for Nova Primary School and a report produced (15 November 2023) highlighting spalling concrete in the building which needed to be addressed within the next 3 - 12months. As Bristol City Council do not have the in-house expertise to specify remediation works, the aim was to let a consultancy contract via Constellia to then tender the works element. However due to unforeseen delays it has taken Constellia longer than anticipated to appoint a Structural Engineer to support the project. Kendal King Scott were appointed by Constellia in mid-April and confirmed production of specification by end May. However, as these works can only be undertaken during the summer holidays when the school is vacant to pupils the contract needs to commence 23rd July 2024.

Approval to commission Newgate Construction to carry out structural repair works to Nova Primary School, Barracks Lane, Shirehampton, Bristol, BS1 9NG.